Chapter 353

The Eighty-Sixth: Erika’s Shifting Heart

“One thousand sheep… one thousand and one sheep…”

Late at night, in the Hai family’s second floor, only Erika’s voice echoed in her room.

“One thousand and two sheep… one thousand and three sheep…”

Unlike her lively self during the day, the girl’s voice continued unceasingly.

“One thousand and four sheep… ah, no, I can’t fall asleep at all!”

Erika, after tossing around on her bed, sat up with a face full of frustration, rubbing her head vigorously.

There was no help for it; she naturally couldn’t fall asleep. Every time she closed her eyes, images surged forth—the deep gaze and those fateful words.

“Erika, I love you.”

As soon as she shut her eyes, that picture replayed vividly before her eyes, under a dreamy, manga-filtered pastel pink glow; the man with black disheveled hair stared directly into her eyes, and “Ash,” whose charm was exaggerated to ten times his original looks through her imagination, approached her. His eyes held a mix of dominance, carelessness, and adoration. Even the CV changed to “Hiromasa Ashitaka’s” magnetic tone, and Ash’s words came out sincerely.

“You’re my lucky star. If you leave me, my good luck will leave too.”

“This, I…”

With great effort, playful Erika spoke in a soft, almost unlike herself, manner, mumbling incomprehensibly.

Cornered emotionally, the girl felt lost but not repulsed. Her azure gem-like orbs met the approaching dark ones. It seemed she was finally going to say something when the man raised his finger and gently tilted her chin to make her look back at him.

“So, Erika, I want you to stay by my side forever, alright?”

Oh, who could resist such pleadings!

“I… I’m willing… No, stop it!”

Ah, saying these irresponsibly kind words, even from the shop owner, made it impossible to ignore!

“Now, what will happen… if I…”

Tap tap–

A knock sounded on the window. Erika’s spirit lifted as she ran over hastily and pulled back the curtain.

“Lei?”

Erika and Lei were close neighbors. Actually, their windows faced each other perfectly. Standing by the windows now, they were less than a meter apart, perfect for intimate conversations.

“What’s wrong, Erika?” Lei asked sleepily, rubbing her squinting eyes. Clearly, Erika’s late-night commotion had disturbed her dream.

“You’ve been off today. I noticed you staring into the sky earlier like you do. Are you now unable to sleep?”

After the battle, Erika left immediately, leaving unknown whereabouts and possible trouble behind. lei worried about her friend.

“I…”

Erika opened her mouth to speak but ended up silent.

How could she say such things out loud!

She wanted to bluff her way through as usual, but her mouth wouldn’t open, and her habitual jokes fell flat.

“Is something wrong, Erika? Can you tell me?”

Underneath her heartfelt concern for her friend, lei softened her voice. But the more gentle her tone became, the more Erika’s shadow in the moonlight seemed uncertain.

Lei was puzzled. She didn’t know why Erika avoided looking at her.

“Lei… I think I like someone.”

Erika choked on her words, turning red and lowering her head, tears brimming in her eyes. Lei struggled to put the delicate emotions she saw into words.

Finally, it came out.

“Huh!” Lei perked up instantly. Her cherry-colored eyes widened in realization. This explained everything strange about Erika that day.

But Erika had someone she liked? That was hard to believe. Who could it be?

“Who? Is it someone in our class… or next door..?”

“No, none of them!”

Erika shook her head, rejecting her friend’s choices, then quickly looked away after meeting Lei’s curious gaze.

“Lei, sorry.”

“Huh?”

Why would she apologize to me?

—

The next day:

“Can’t handle this, get off!”

Pushing aside Lei as she tried to attack, Ash, transformed as Timons, tasted the boredom of defeating a weaker foe.

To verify his steadfast resolve, he reluctantly diverted from his work to confront them. Given the strength of these girls, it was challenging to battle them without resorting to genetic enhancement.

Unexpectedly, the problems came unexpectedly from Erika’s side, especially since Wuki wasn’t there.

“Erika!” Landing heavily, Lei helped Erika from the ground, who lay motionless, staring blankly. “Are you okay, Erika? Today, you seem off… Erika?!”

Seeing no response from Erika startled her as she placed her ear near Erika’s chest to check her heartbeat, which reassured her.

“Just asleep… wait, asleep? In battle?”

“Haha, stop that, so mean—uh, uh, uh?” Probably due to the commotion, Erika blinked awake from her dream state.

“What’s wrong? Damn, so tired… so tired…”

Last night kept her awake, making her feel exhausted now. Closing her eyes was becoming difficult.

“Erika, pull yourself together!” Lei grabbed her limp body, shaking her as she watched Timons approach. “Wuki should be here soon; don’t get sleepy now!”

“I know… but!”

Struggling to stand with weak limbs, even in her Pretty Cure form, she yawned incessantly. “Still sleepy…”

“Just go home if you’re this sleepy…” Ash scratched his helmet’s visor, frustrated. He didn’t understand what was wrong with Erika, wasting the effort he had put in.

Damn, I was planning on giving it my hardest or having someone give me a good fight to toughen myself, but…

“Can we stop fighting?” Lei managed a smile despite the situation, hoping for peace without fighting.

“Nah, just Timons… my…”

Erika, holding onto Erika, refused to cooperate, pointing at her spider replica, even swaying. “I could take you down even while sleeping—ha, ha~”

Erika’s braggart mouth turned into a yawn amidst Lei and the fairies’ exasperation.

“Honestly, fighting won’t change anything here. Let’s just call it a draw.”

You get it, you get it, right? You agree with that too!

In anticipation of her hope, Ash drew his spider emblem.

“[Charge!]”

“Mm…” Looking at Erika nodding like a bobblehead, Ash nodded forcefully, moving his belt sides towards the center. “Forget it, I’m not feeling charitable.”

“[Demon’s Finish!]”

“—”